Press conference held for 2nd GO-ECO Phuket activity

On 26th July 2013 at Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort and Spa, Phuket Vice Governor – Sommai Preechasil presided over the press conference for the 2nd GO-ECO Phuket event. Also in attendance at the event was Director of TAT Phuket – Chanchai Duangjit and PPAO Advisor – Somsak Rattanasanyanuphap.

The 2nd GO-ECO Phuket event has been organized with the cooperation of Department of Marine and Coastal Resources Area 5, Third Naval Area Command, Phuket Marine Police, Phuket Marine Office, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization, Chalong Municipality and Phuket Submarine Entrepreneurs, is aimed at highlighting some of the environmental issues faced by Phuket and will feature environmental activities such as cycling to reduce energy consumption on 4th August 2013, and a large diving activity where divers will remove garbage from the sea and the beaches at Coral Island, Racha Island on 13th August 2013.

Khun Sommai said “The problem of garbage in the sea and on the beaches is a manmade problem caused by locals and tourists, a number of the coral reefs surrounding Phuket have been damaged and in some cases completely destroyed. This in turn affects the beauty of the underwater scenery, degrades our marine ecosystems and harms the beautiful sea creatures. Last year’s activity saw 7.5 tons of waste removed from the sea, so it is a positive thing that all parties are now coming together to help, all those people involved have the same goal, to ensure Phuket is kept as a world-class marine attraction. It is time to awaken more people and ensure they are aware of the no litter campaign and to ensure that everybody is aware that the marine life is an important part of Phuket’s tourism industry and it has to be kept in good condition to ensure the sustainability of Phuket’s dive businesses.”